DA flags 36 retailers for violating price cap for imported rice
The Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued notices of violation to 36 retailers nationwide for failing to comply with the mandatory price ceiling of P50 per kilogram for imported rice.
The DA said in a statement on Tuesday that the notices were sent to 19 rice retailers in the Ilocos region, eight in Metro Manila, four in Central Luzon, three in the Negros Island Region and two in Bicol.
“The issuance of notices of violations forms part of the DA’s intensified monitoring and enforcement efforts to ensure adherence to government-mandated rice cap policies and protect consumers from unjustified price increases,” it added.
A market vendor at Trabajo Market in Sampaloc, Manila, received a notice of violation for changing a shelf label after inspectors arrived. The stall initially displayed a price of P55 per kilogram for imported rice.
Mislabeling
A similar notice was issued to another retailer in Alabang Central Public Market for selling imported premium rice at P60 per kilo, along with many retailers for mislabeling locally produced rice as imported rice.
On the other hand, another retailer was suspected of mislabeling imported rice as local rice, although the DA said formal sanctions will depend on the result of the Bureau of Plant Industry’s laboratory tests based on samples collected from the market.
Issued by President Marcos on May 13, Executive Order No. 118 sets a monthlong price ceiling of P50 per kilogram on 5-percent broken imported rice nationwide.
The order aims to curtail “unreasonable price increases” in the Filipino household staple and prevent market abuse amid the adverse impact of the Middle East conflict on prices of essential goods.
The DA conducted simultaneous market inspections in several Metro Manila markets and other parts of the country to monitor the compliance of retailers with the President’s order.
“Some retailers have complained that the price cap could leave them with little or no profit because certain suppliers allegedly sell imported rice at prices that leave insufficient room for retail markups,” the DA said.
Agriculture Assistant Secretary Willie Ann Angsiy said retailers would need to disclose their supply sources so that authorities could investigate upstream players in the rice trade.
